Most tenants believe that renters insurance will cost significantly more than it actually does, reported Housing Wire on Monday. Perhaps for that reason, only 34 percent of renters have insurance.

The actual cost of renters insurance is about $185 per year, or $15 per month. However, according to a survey by InsuranceQuotes.com, most people estimate the cost to be much higher: 60 percent of those surveyed guess that the cost is about $250 per year, and one in five believe it costs $1,000 or more, perhaps a closer quote for car insurance. Additionally, many renters erroneously believe that their landlord’s insurance covers them.

Renters insurance covers the cost of replacing your possessions if something happens in the home you are renting. With homes full of laptops, cameras, and various electronics, renters insurance can potentially cover thousands of dollars in belongings.

As someone who is one degree away from people whose homes were broken into or ravaged by a house fire, consider this a rare UrbanTurf public service announcement: there is almost no reason not to have renters insurance.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/only_34_percent_of_renters_have_insurance/6772

7 Comments

mona said at 4:10 pm on Monday March 11, 2013:

As a landlord I make it a point of telling everyone of my tenants exactaly what is covered by my insurance and what is not and even give them the name of the insurance companies to call and what cost tend to be. If they want to take the risk of not having after that it is up to them.

Dave Banick said at 4:16 pm on Monday March 11, 2013:

I put it in my lease, and the tenants had to initial it—-acknowledging that they are aware of and will either get renters insurance or won’t hold me liable if they don’t. It’s cheap and will save the day when the hose on the upstairs washing maching bursts and water comes through the ceiling and fries the TV. Just saying…

man in dc said at 5:26 pm on Monday March 11, 2013:

Not sure about the above, but every policy I looked at recently didn’t cover or charged extra for water damage.

Kevan said at 1:29 am on Tuesday March 12, 2013:

Dave….fix your washing machine man -___-

saladman8283 said at 11:58 am on Tuesday March 12, 2013:

Man in DC - a typical renters (or homeowners) policy doesn’t cover water damage when the water comes in from the outside where there is no breach to the envelope of the structure or up through the ground. (Flood insurance is available for the latter situation.) However, if there is an otherwise covered cause of loss (such as a burst pipe/hose, a tree falls on the roof, etc) and water resulting from that loss causes damage, there is coverage. Obviously, all policies are different, and if there are any questions, you should always call your agent or insurer.

Emilie Fairbanks said at 10:47 am on Monday March 18, 2013:

This is so important. Tenants can be legally responsible for damage they cause to the building or a neighboring tenant’s property or if a guest is injured in their apartment. Most renter’s insurance policies offer some coverage for all of those things. Even if you assume you can replace your own belongings, renter’s insurance is extremely inexpensive protection for a variety of situations a renter can find themselves in. Many leases allow landlords to evict tenants who cannot pay damages they cause within thirty days. Get the insurance.

DC Dave said at 3:42 pm on Monday March 18, 2013:

Kevan, I wasn’t clear. The burst hose was from another apartment upstairs.